Wire tying apparatus including demountable tying mechanism

ABSTRACT

An improved apparatus for tightly joining a cluster of wires or cables which utilizes counter-rotating heads to wrap a relatively stiff tie wire around the cluster. A ramp on one of the heads cams the tie wire into a position where it is picked up by a pulley on the other head. As the heads rotate in opposite directions the tie wire is restrained by the above-mentioned pulley as well as a pulley on the head that has the ramp, thereby causing a tight wrap. The heads are housed in a removable cartridge to facilitate maintenance.

United States Patent Bartilson et al.

WIRE TYING APPARATUS INCLUDING DEMOUNTABLE TYING MECHANISM Inventors: Benjamin M. Bartilson; Gerald A.

Frauds, both of Columbus, Ohio The United States of America as swee r! e se eteixqt e Army Filed: June 17, 1971 Appl. No.: 154,111

Assignee:

U.S. Cl ..140/93 A, 140/119, 140/122 Int. Cl. ..B2lf 7/00, B21f 15/04 Field of Search ..140/54, 57, 93 A, 93.6, 115,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 7/1890 Frackelton ..140/57 3/1894 Ferris ..140/122 1 Oct. 24, 1972 619,355 2/1899 Scofield ..140/122 1,020,599 3/1912 Elder ..140/122 3,388,725 6/1968 Richardson ..140/93 3,570,553 3/1971 Bartilson et a] ..140/93 Primary Examiner-Milton S. Mehr Assistant Examiner-E. M. Combs Attorney-Charles K. Wright, Jr., William G. Gapcynski and Lawrence A. Neureither [57] ABSTRACT An improved apparatus for tightly joining a cluster of wires or cables which utilizes counter-rotating heads to wrap a relatively stiff tie wire around the cluster. A ramp on one of the heads cams the tie wire into a position where it is picked up by a pulley on the other head. As the heads rotate in opposite directions the tie wire is restrained by the above-mentioned pulley as well as a pulley on the head that has the ramp, thereby causing a tight wrap. The heads are housed in a removable cartridge to facilitate maintenance.

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, INVENTORS BENJAMIN M. BARTILSON GERALD A. FRANCIS ATTORNEY mm MM WIRE TYING APPARATUS INCLUDING DEMOUNTA'BLE TYINGMECH-ANISM The invention herein described was made inthe' course of or under a contract or subcontract thereunder (or grant) with the Department-of the Army.

BACKGROUND-OF THE INVENTION 1 Field of the Invention Theinvention has utility whenever it is necessary to join a cluster of wires, cables or combinations-thereof. The invention has particular utility in' communications and associated fields where the wrap must resisttensile loads and slippage of the wires-or cableswith respect to the wrap and with respect to each other.

2. Description of the Prior Art Until recently the primary method of tying cables together was by hand, with or withoutthe aid of various gripping instruments. Application, Ser. No. 756,557, now US. Pat. No. 3,570,553 in which the present inventors, along with a third, were joint inventors, discloses the basic tying machine that the invention of the present application improves. In the present invention improved wrapping discs are disclosed which enable a tighter wrap with less likelihood of apparatus failure. The wrapping discs are housed in a removable cartridge which facilitates maintenance of the apparatus.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The tying apparatus has counter rotatable power driven discs which are housed in a cartridge which is removable from the remainder of the apparatus. Each of the discs has a pulley projected inwardly toward the other disc. The tie wire extends downward next to one pulley and as the discs rotate, a ramp on the disc with the first pulley cams the tie wire into a plane where the pulley on the other disc will engage it. In this manner the pulleys each engage the tie wire and as they go in opposite directions each pulley acts to restrain the wire as the other pulls on it thereby producing a tight wrap.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a tying apparatus capable of making a tighter wrap than heretofore possible with portable tying machines.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a tying apparatus with easily removable tying discs to facilitate maintenance and replacement of parts.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the lower housing and removable cartridge of the tying mechanism with the cartridge broken apart;

FIG. 2 is a view of the bearing surfaces of a wrapping head;

FIG. 3 is a top sectional view of the wrapping head;

FIG. 4 is a front view of the wrapping heads illustrating cluster and tie wire;

FIG. 5 is a top view of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an end view of the wrapping heads;

FIG. 7 is a view taken along line 7-7 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a view taken along line 8-8 of FIG. 6;

FIGS. 9-9c and 10-100 show the respective positions of the opposing wrapping heads during a tie; and

FIG. 11 shows the tying machine with a schematic of the drive mechanism in cutaway.

the pulley 27 of wrapping head 10 can pick it up. The

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIG. 1 wrappingheads l0 and 11, having relatively wide slots 12 and 13,.are encased in head bearings 14, 15. A. removable cartridge 16 which houses the wrapping heads 10, 11 andhead bearings 14, is comprised of two shrouds 1,7, .18 which-are engageable to the main housing-19 bya latch which 10 mates with latch-element2l' secured to themain housposition for the. starting of the-tying-cycleThe shrouds 17 18 provide a means of-retaining-andsupporting the cartridge elementsin placeandfurtherprovide a protective shell to shield the lower portion'of' the housing p 19 and wrapping heads 10, l 1 from danger.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, theheadbearings 14, 15

contain surfaces 23 and 24 uponwhich the wrapping heads 10, 11 are rotatably supported duringthe making of a tie.

Referring to FIGS. 4, 5- and6, the wrapping of the tie wire 25 around the cluster of wires 26 to be tied is performed by pulling the tie wire 25 around two pulleys 27, 28 as will be described, to obtain a tight wrap. The wrapping heads 10, ll rotate simultaneously in op- 30 posite directions so that one wrapping head 10 wraps one half of the tie wire 25 and the other wrapping head 11 wraps the other half. In this manner, one wrapping head acts as a tie wire clamp for the other by the pull of one offsetting the pull of the other. The slots l2, 13

allow the wrapping heads 10, 11 to be placed over the cluster of wires 26 and then rotated about the cluster 26 thus permitting the tie wire 25 to be wrapped around the cluster 26.

Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8 slots 29, 30 are required for insertion of the tie wire 25. The ramp 31 on wrapping head 11 is used to position the tie wire 25 for pickup by wrapping head 10 at the beginning of the tie. As the wrapping heads 10, 11 begin to counter-rotate, the ramp 31 cams the tie wire 25 into such position that two pulleys 27 28, counter-rotating with respect to one another pull the tie wire 25 around the cluster of wires 26 as the wrapping heads 10, 11 rotate. Mandrels 32 and 33 store the unused portion of the tie wire 25 until it is pulled around the respective pulleys 27, 28 and wrapped around the cluster 26. The wrapping heads wireguide inserts 34 and 35 guide the tie wire 25 as the tie is being made. Recesses 36 and 37 in the wrapping heads 10, ll allow the tie wire 25 to move along the cluster 26 as the tie is being made so that the wraps are laid side by side, directly on the cluster 26. Wrapping head notches 38 and 39 prevent the end of the tie wire 25 from becoming wedged between the wrapping heads l0, 11 at the conclusion of the tie wrapping process.

ing sequential views. FIGS. 9a and 10a show the result of the wrapping heads 10, 11 having rotated one-half revolution. FIGS. 9b and 10b show the result of the wrapping heads 10, 11 having completed one revolution. FIGS. 90 and 10c show the wire after several revolutions and the wrap almost completed.

FIG. 11 illustrates tying machine 47 with the driving mechanism for the wrapping heads 10, 11 exposed. A motor (not shown) rotates a first bevel gear 42 which drives bevel gear 43 and another gear (not shown) identical to gear 43 which meshes on the opposite side of bevel gear 42. Gear 43 drives spur gear 44 which drives spur gear 45 which drives spur gears 46-46 which drive wrapping head 11. The other wrapping head 10 is driven by an identical gear train (not shown) only in the opposite direction from wrapping head 11 since the bevel gear opposite bevel gear 43 meshes with the first bevel gear 42 on the opposite side of gear 42 from where gear 43 is positioned.

Main structural components of the tying apparatus 47 are the cartridge 49, the lower housing 51, and the upper housing 55. Inlet 63 represents the main air inlet for a pneumatic embodiment of the machine. The tying cycle is actuated by knob 57 and the handle 100 enables the apparatus to be moved about and supported with ease.

The above disclosure describes the basic operation of the improved tying machine and gives detailed descriptions of the improvements. A detailed description of the basic machine is contained in application, Ser. No. 756,557. The changes made from the basic machine to obtain the improved machine are readily apparent from a comparison of the two disclosures.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for tying a plurality of wires, cables and combinations thereof, comprising:

a. two counter rotatable slotted discs, said slots being alignable to receive a cluster of wires having their longitudinal axes substantially perpendicular to said discs;

b. a pulley adjacent the periphery of each of said discs;

0. means for rotating said discs in opposite directions; and

d. means for guiding a tying wire between said cluster of wires and the pulley of each of said discs including a ramp on one of said discs for camming the tying wire into engagement with the pulley on the other of said discs as said discs rotate causing the tying wire to be pulled in opposite directions by said pulleys and wrapped around said cluster of wires.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said discs are housed in a cartridge which is detachable from 'the remainder of the apparatus.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 including means on said discs for moving the tie wire along the cluster as the tie is being made so that the wraps are laid side-by-side on the cluster.

4. Apparatus for tying a plurality of wires, cables and combinations thereof, comprising:

a. a housing;

b. a cartridge detachable from said housing;

0. two counter rotatable slotted discs secured in said 0' t 'd e s id lot bein ali n ble to r ceive a cl n g a liav mg th ir lo tg i tudinal a xes subuster of wires stantially perpendicular to said discs;

d. a pulley adjacent the periphery of each of said discs having their axes substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of said cluster of wires;

e. means on said housing for rotating said discs in opposite directions; and

f. means including projections on said discs for guiding a tying wire between said cluster of wires and the pulley of each of said discs and further including a ramp on one of said discs for camming the tying wire into engagement with the pulley on the other of said discs as said discs rotate causing the tying wire to be pulled in opposite directions by said pulleys and wrapped around said cluster of wires and further including notches on said discs for moving the tie wire along the cluster as the tie is being made so that the wraps are laid side-byside on the cluster. 

1. Apparatus for tying a plurality of wires, cables and combinations thereof, comprising: a. two counter rotatable slotted discs, said slots being alignable to receive a cluster of wires having their longitudinal axes substantially perpendicular to said discs; b. a pulley adjacent the periphery of each of said discs; c. means for rotating said discs in opposite directions; and d. means for guiding a tying wire between said cluster of wires and the pulley of each of said discs including a ramp on one of said discs for camming the tying wire into engagement with the pulley on the other of said discs as said discs rotate causing the tying wire to be pulled in opposite directions by said pulleys and wrapped around said cluster of wires.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said discs are housed in a cartridge which is detachable from the remainder of the apparatus.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1 including means on said discs for moving the tie wire along the cluster as the tie is being made so that the wraps are laid side-by-side on the cluster.
 4. Apparatus for tying a plurality of wires, cables and combinations thereof, comprising: a. a housing; b. a cartridge detachable from said housing; c. two counter rotatable slotted discs secured in said cartridge, said slots being alignable to receive a cluster of wires having their longitudinal axes substantially perpendicular to said discs; d. a pulley adjacent the periphery of each of said discs having their axes substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of said cluster of wires; e. means on said housing for rotating said discs in opposite directions; and f. means including projections on said discs for guiding a tying wire between said cluster of wires and the pulley of each of said discs and further including a ramp on one of said discs for camming the tying wire into engagement with the pulley on the other of said discs as said discs rotate causing the tying wire to be pulled in opposite directions by said pulleys and wrapped around said cluster of wires and further including notches on said discs for moving the tie wire along the cluster as the tie is being made so that the wraps are laid side-by-side on the cluster. 